In Part 1, we explained that we use descriptive (or qualifying) adjectives to describe physical and non-physical attributes of a person, animal or thing. We looked at the physical attributes size, appearance and taste. In this Part we look at the physical attribute composition, and the non-physical attributes, nationality, age, temperament.

1. Composition

By composition, we mean what something is made of, for example a leather jacket, a wooden bench, iron bar, etc. To render this is in Italian, you must use the preposition di followed by a noun, ie of leather, of wood, of iron.

Age in this context is young (giovane), old (vecchio), antique (antico- only used for things), middle-aged (di mezza età). Big (grande) and small (piccolo) can also be used to denote age, particularly small which is used to mean young.